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Updated: Dec 26, 2025
07:12
Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
Published on: April 11, 2025
791
Impact of glaucoma on executive function and visual search.
Samantha Sze-Yee Lee1,2, Joanne M Wood1, Alexander A Black1
1School of Optometry and Vision Science, and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Summary
Older adults with glaucoma show impaired executive function and visual search compared to controls. The useful field-of-view (UFoV) effectively predicts performance on complex visual tasks, highlighting its importance in assessing daily living activities.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Executive function and visual search are critical for daily activities like driving.
- Glaucoma, a progressive optic neuropathy, can impact cognitive and visual processing.
- The Trail Making Test B (TMT-B) assesses executive function and visual search.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare executive function and visual search in older adults with glaucoma versus controls.
- To identify visual function tests that best predict TMT-B performance.
- To explore the impact of test complexity (low contrast, shifting targets) on TMT-B performance.
Main Methods:
- A computerised TMT-B with varying contrast and target positions was used.
- Participants included 31 older adults with glaucoma and 24 age-similar controls.
- Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity (CS), visual fields, and useful field-of-view (UFoV) were measured.
Main Results:
- Glaucoma patients were significantly slower on the TMT-B (17.3s longer, P=0.028).
- Lower contrast and shifting targets increased TMT-B completion time for all participants (P<0.05).
- Slower UFoV processing speeds strongly predicted longer TMT-B completion times (P<0.01).
Conclusions:
- Older adults with glaucoma exhibit poorer visual search and executive function.
- Test complexity did not differentially affect glaucoma patients compared to controls.
- UFoV processing speed is a key predictor of TMT-B performance in this population.
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